The invention relates to a package for tobacco-related articles, e.g. for cigarettes or for cigarillos.
A conventional package for tobacco-related articles comprises a shell having a front wall, a rear wall, two lateral walls opposite to each other and a bottom wall connecting the front wall and the rear wall. The top side of the shell is closed by a lid, which can be opened by swivelling or rotating it about a hinge line provided at the rear wall or one of the lateral walls. For opening or closing such package, the user generally has to apply both of his or her hands.
FR 1 081 649 discloses a cigarette package comprising an outer shell and an inner shell. The inner shell accommodates the cigarettes and can be moved up and down in the outer shell by means of an actuating knob guided in a slot in the front wall of the outer shell. The top side of the outer shell is closed by two lids. When the inner shell is upwardly moved, the lids open automatically. This package can be handled by one hand. However, the means for actuating the lids are elaborate and tend to be expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,929,542 describes a slide box for cigarettes in which an inner shell can be slid inside an outer shell. A lid is connected to a top edge of the inner shell by means of a flexible connector, which unlocks the lid after it has been moved out of the outer shell when the inner shell is slid in top direction. This package can be handled by one hand, but this might be inconvenient because the lid does not necessarily open automatically and it might be required to tilt the package for opening the lid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,240,548 discloses a push pack comprising an outer shell without bottom and an inner shell. A lid opens automatically when the inner shell is moved in top direction. In order to move the inner shell, however, the user has to push it from the bottom side, which much impedes one-hand operation.
EP 1 590 251 B1 describes a rigid package for tobacco articles including an outer box and an inner box. The inner box is guided by a kind of elevator for up and down movement. This elevator consists of a flexible member surrounding the inner box in longitudinal direction and being fixed to a wall of the outer box, and it is actuated by sliding the flexible member upwards or downwards by shifting it, at the side opposite to the wall it is fixed at, through an aperture in the outer box. A lid is part of the flexible member. This package enables one-hand operation, but its design is somewhat complicated and tends to be expensive.